Faulty Amstrad DRX300

A Brewer

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I've just registered as I'm having problems with my digibox and wondered if there was anybody on here who could help.

I have a Amstrad DRX300 which displays "No signal is being received from the satellite" and nothing else appears on the screen. The red light comes on the box as soon as I power it up but it won't switch to a green light for about two minutes. This is when the message appears. I can access the system setup menu which reports no signal.
I've replaced the digibox with a second hand unit off e-bay and I'm now back up and running but I was wondering if there was anything I could do to fix the faulty one. Any ideas?

Also, are the causes of this problem purely hardware related or could the problem be software/firmware related? If so is it possible to reprogram the DRX300 via the RS232 socket for example?

 

Llew

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A Brewer said:
I've just registered as I'm having problems with my digibox and wondered if there was anybody on here who could help.

I have a Amstrad DRX300 which displays "No signal is being received from the satellite" and nothing else appears on the screen. The red light comes on the box as soon as I power it up but it won't switch to a green light for about two minutes. This is when the message appears. I can access the system setup menu which reports no signal.
I've replaced the digibox with a second hand unit off e-bay and I'm now back up and running but I was wondering if there was anything I could do to fix the faulty one. Any ideas?

Also, are the causes of this problem purely hardware related or could the problem be software/firmware related? If so is it possible to reprogram the DRX300 via the RS232 socket for example?


Slow to turn on sounds like a power supply fault, usually caused by the electrolytic capacitors drying out. If you are handy with a soldering iron, a capacitor kit is available from:-
http://www.satcure.co.uk/amsrep.htm

Llew
 

A Brewer

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Llew said:
Slow to turn on sounds like a power supply fault, usually caused by the electrolytic capacitors drying out. If you are handy with a soldering iron, a capacitor kit is available from:-
http://www.satcure.co.uk/amsrep.htm

Llew
Would this also cause the "No signal" problem?

Also I've just noticed my Grundig box doesn't receive ITV2. Has ITV2 been removed from the Sky family pack over the last few weeks or are different cards required for different Sky boxes?
 
C

Coca-Cooper

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A Brewer said:
The red light comes on the box as soon as I power it up but it won't switch to a green light for about two minutes.

For what it's worth, I think this is normal as my DRX-400 has a similar delay when powering on. Did it always take this long? ie when it was working

What version of software does it report is installed? Also, did this problem happen straight away, or did the signal quality deteriorate over a period of time?
 

A Brewer

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Coca-Cooper said:
For what it's worth, I think this is normal as my DRX-400 has a similar delay when powering on. Did it always take this long? ie when it was working

What version of software does it report is installed? Also, did this problem happen straight away, or did the signal quality deteriorate over a period of time?
I used to be able to switch it on pretty quickly. There was always a delay of a few seconds but this was around half a minute max. The problem happened within a day. The no signal message appeared in the morning when the kids were watching TV. The wife power cycled the digibox and it seemed to fix it for a few hours. When I arrived home the wife advised of the problem and it had reoccurred in the afternoon. When I first tried to power cycle the box the no signal message was accompanied by the program search bar at the bottom of the screen. I power cycled it again and since then only the no signal message appears.

I'm not sure of the version of the software although I wouldn't be able to upgrade it as I have no satellite signal, unless of course you know how to upgrade via another method.
 
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Coca-Cooper

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A Brewer said:
I'm not sure of the version of the software although I wouldn't be able to upgrade it as I have no satellite signal, unless of course you know how to upgrade via another method.

You can find the software version via the System Details screen (via the System Setup menu).
 

A Brewer

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Coca-Cooper said:
You can find the software version via the System Details screen (via the System Setup menu).
Yes I'll be able to check this when I get home if necessary. The thing is, if it is out of date will I be able to update the software without the satellite signal? I only know how to update from the satellite by holding down the backup button when powering up. If there's another way (via the RS232 port for example) then I'd like to know how to do it.

Thanks
 

BGonaSTICK

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Pretty sure it's the power supply board. Very common fault. Easy to fix yourself though.

Start here (Hmmm... I seem to be chucking a lot of business their way today!)

==>> www.mces.co.uk

Now there's a fun-looking project with nothing to lose and everything to gain!

STICK
 

chris43

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isnt your digibox insured with sky ?? my g/f works for the company that repairs them the only one in the country will ask her if she knows what the sault is when she gets in from work
 

A Brewer

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chris43 said:
isnt your digibox insured with sky ?? my g/f works for the company that repairs them the only one in the country will ask her if she knows what the sault is when she gets in from work
Thanks. My digibox was only insured with Sky for the first year. They advised that I could send it in for repair for £65 which seemed a bit steep to me. I purchased a second hand Grundig off e-bay for £25 which seems like better value.

From comments further up this thread it seems like it's most likely a problem on the PSU.
 

chris43

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well when g/f gets home from work ill ask her anyway as she works with them all day i assume she will know what the problem is as it says up the thread a lot of probs are with the psu but maybe not the case you never know might save you some money on getting it repaired :-)
 

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Also I've just noticed my Grundig box doesn't receive ITV2. Has ITV2 been removed from the Sky family pack over the last few weeks or are different cards required for different Sky boxes?[/QUOTE]
You will need to phone sky and register your grundig with them in order to receive ITV2. ITV2 will only be decoded on the box the card is "married" to.
 
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